WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump takes office in 56 days with a deportation agenda that already has migrant families living in fear across America. We’ve asked over over a dozen congressional Democrats so far what migrant families should be doing to prepare for the second Trump term. Some Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) gave fairly detailed answers. Others, like Senator Maria Cantwell (D-MI), said less: “We need ag jobs,” she replied when I asked her outside the Senate chamber last week.

Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) offered something in between. “I’m prayerful,” he said, adding: “I certainly hope that the next four years, under President Trump, don’t reflect the first four years of his presidency.” Below is the brief, three-question hallway interview we did with New Mexico Democrat on November 12. We run it now because Congress is away this week, so we’ll be posting some of the interviews we haven’t gotten to just yet.

Interview Transcript: Senator Ben Ray Luján

Pablo: What is the migrant community doing to prepare for the upcoming Trump presidency given that Stephen Miller, Thomas Homan, and Kristi Noem are now coalescing around the immigration portfolio?

Lujàn: Well, first, what my hope is that Republican colleagues are ready and willing to work with Democrat colleagues here in the Senate and the House to stand up against this nonsense of separating kids from families. Two of the individuals that were the architects of that under President Trump have already been announced as joining his administration with incredible powers and authorities.

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